Scientists have worked out how this tiny bear-like creature is indestructible — and it could help shield people from radiation

A new
protein discovered in tardigrades - or water bears if you want to
use their cuter name - helps shield them from harmful radiation,
making them virtually indestructible. And researchers hope their
new finding could be used to protect the DNA in our cells too.

Like water bear cells, human cells are damaged when they're
exposed to X-rays. But in the lab, when the scientists
manipulated human cells to be able to create the water bear
shielding protein - called Dsup - they showed about half the DNA
damage as normal cells.

This changes a lot of what scientists thought they knew about how
water bears deal with radiation, as they were previously thought
to have proteins that repaired damaged DNA, rather than proteins
that halt damage altogether.

Water bears have fascinated researchers for a long time.

There are
over 1,000 species of water bears. The creatures grow to about 0.5mm long and get their
name from their bear-like claws and podgy frame. If you want to
find some, pick some wet moss and squeeze it, and water bears
should fall out, which you'll be able to see through a
microscope.

It is widely known that these critters can withstand some
remarkably tough conditions. By shrivelling up into dehydrated
balls, water bears can survive boiling and absolute zero
temperatures, and can live without food or water for over 30
years. They have even survived in the vacuum of
space.

They manage this by going into a state of cryptobiosis, which is when all
metabolic processes stop. When they find themselves in better
conditions, they come out of the state and carry on as they did
before. Also found in the water bear genome were more copies of
an anti-oxidant enzyme and a DNA repair gene than in any other
animal. These help counteract oxidation damage when it's
dehydrated.

The discovery of the new radiation shielding protein reveals
another trick these tough animals have up their sleeve. By
discovering more about their survival tricks, the researchers
hope to learn more ways to protect human cells from damage. For
example, if dehydration tolerance can be transferred, this could
be particularly useful when transporting delicate skin grafts and
organs.

There's also the possibility of learning about what kind of
organisms could live in extremely hostile environments- such as on
the surface of Mars - and maybe even bioengineering organisms to
survive there.